1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a game, and more particularly, to a culture based game that educates its players on geography and the various cultures around the world generally employing question cards with culture and, or geography oriented questions and answers, cards with hypothetical cultural situations and directions, color coded map of the world, passports and passport stamps.
2. Description of Related Art
Educational games, such as those marketed under the trademarks, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and Risk, are known in the art. The prior art also comprises games that employ question and answer cards that require players to guess how another player would respond to a question, such as the one marketed under the name Scruples. However, no games are known that teach about various world cultures and geographies, as contemplated by the instant invention. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,939, issued to Robinson, et al., discloses a cultural knowledge board game having a plurality of playing cards and playing tokens. Each playing space is assigned to a participant and has disposed thereon a plurality of distinct educational categories. Each playing card has a plurality of topics corresponding to an educational category. The playing tokens are assigned to each participant and are equal in number to the number of educational categories on each playing space. The game, however, fails to adequately focus on various world cultures and customs, does not evoke player participation on virtually every turn, does not give clues in advance and does not comprise a game system incorporating passports to simulate the feel of travel.
Other patents known in the prior art are as follows. U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,142, issued to Spohn, provides a board game apparatus for simulating a tour comprising a playing surface having a plurality of spaces representing places and clusters of places, for example, places of interest to sightseers that are connected by differently colored or shaded lines representing avenues of travel and other lines representing transportation systems. The game includes sets of cards to represent the indicated places, and dice of different colors corresponding to the lines to indicate the mode and extent of movement of game pieces permissible along the avenues of travel. Barricades are also included for interrupting travel between places when placed on the playing surface by a player instructed to do so.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,072, issued to Beal, discloses an educational world map game adapted to be played on a pachisi-like game playing board bearing the world continental areas with countries marked off and lines of playing spaces traversed by playing pieces that are counted off according to the number on the roll of the dice and directed by drawn cards or playing pieces corresponding to continental areas.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,800, issued to Konsolas, discloses a map board game apparatus having a map including a plurality of selected countries, each distinguishable from the others by the color thereof. A path is superimposed on the game board map and includes a plurality of stopping points in each country corresponding to the capital city of the country. A selector is included for effecting movement of the game members along the path and includes a base and a pointer rotatably mounted thereon wherein the base has an inter-radial band divided into the plurality of selectable segments, each having indicia thereon for instructing the movement of a game member a number of points along the path, and an outer radial band concentric with the inner band having indicia thereon associated with different countries for instructing the movement of game members to a stopping point in the country associated therewith.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,394, issued to Sumin, discloses a tourist game apparatus designed to guide and educate players about geography, transportation, history, entertainment and amusement interests in combination with shopping, restaurants and hotels. The game apparatus includes a board comprising of at least one map bearing the geographical indicia characterizing the area. A plurality of playing cards includes information about these geographical locations which are connected on the map by separate travel itineraries. Each player plays the game by receiving an individual itinerary and performing a trip according to existing means of transportation and distances within the area.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,967, issued to Woodliff, discloses a map board game featuring an actual map of the world with an outer border in colors corresponding to the colors of specific regions. Players move from region to region around the world by traveling around the outer border or by choosing a transportation card which allows for movement into certain regions. Players can purchase businesses and accumulate world market currency in the different regions by answering questions correctly specific to that region. The winner is the player who owns all the businesses of the world or who acquires most world market currency.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,582, issued to Van Lysel, discloses a geographical travel game including a playing board with a large map of Western Europe bordered by 13 blocks that run along the bottom and left hand sides of the playing board. The playing map is divided into 16 European countries and 49 European cities. Players start from the bordering box and play proceeds into any city the player chooses. Once in the city, the player draws a corresponding city card, players move between cities and use money for fees, rewards, and penalties.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,048, issued to Turner, discloses a game that simulates world travel, including a board having two zones marked thereon, a plurality of cards and a number of playing pieces. Players score points by moving playing pieces on the first zone, using resources and opportunities represented by cards acquired by movement of a further playing piece in the second zone and an exercise of chance or skill. The game includes identification of the geographical location of a place of tourist significance or other tourist attractions depicted on the face of cards.
While the prior art reveals various games that incorporate geography, none of the above-noted references address an educational game for teaching about various cultures, customs and facts as contemplated by the instant invention. The references found fail to disclose an entertaining game that simultaneously teaches about world geography, cultures, customs and facts. Accordingly, it is our opinion that your invention is patentable over the references found in our search.